Walkway



J. R. TENCH WALKWAY May 27, 1941.

Filed Dec. 30, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTQR (flab/7 A. Ewe/2 BY ATTORNEYS.

J. R. T ENCH May 27, 1941.

WALKWAY Filed Dec. 30, 1939 2 She'bis-Sheet 2 dbn 2 72 22? VJ 1 Awonnevs.

Patented May 2 7, 1941 I John R. Tench,

Tarrytowm N. Y., assignor to Structural iatents Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application December 30,1939, Serial No. 311,811 7 Claims. 00:. 105-457) invention has for its principal object the production of a metallic and durable structure adapted for use primarily as awalkway or "catwalk which may be easily and expeditiously manufactured at comparatively small cost.

A further object of the invention is the pro-. duction of a walkway of the above character inv which the body or tread is reticulated so that when the device is used in the open it will not become clogged with snow or ice in inclement weather.

A further object of the invention is the production of a walkway as above described in which the body or tread shall be of a .non-slip or "non-skid character.

Still a further object of the invention is the production of a walkway having the character istics as above described which preferably comprises, in the main, standard parts only "thereby lessening the cost of production.

A further object of the invention is the production of a walkway of the above character which shall be rigid and compact and which may be easily paint-dipped or otherwise coated.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof proceeds, the invention consisting in the novel walkway and parts thereof here-' inafter more particularly described and then specified in the claims.

Specifically the invention was devised as a substitute for the cat-walk" on the roof of freight cars and sometimes known as the "run This construction, however, is objectionable for the reason that it is not a non slip one and also because it is expensive by reason of the fact that a very large number of rods must be employed to produce a structure wherein the openings are sufiiciently small in area to eliminate the possibility of a persons heel from. becoming caught in one of them with probable disastrous results.

- direction.

ning board" although it will be obvious that it I may be employed with equal advantage in other localities such as for walkways in power plants,

' industrial plants and the like. 'As is well known,

fcat-walks on freight cars extend longitudinally thereof and are used for the purpose of permitting trainmen or workmen to walk from the roof of one car to that of the next succeeding car. These cat-walks, at the present time,

are usually made of wood and accordingly de-,

to the persons using them. These casualties have been obviated to a large extent by the employmentof the present invention.

It has also been proposed in some cases to construct the "cat-walk of metal and embody-- ing a plurality of longitudinal rods welded or otherwise connected to a plurality of cross rods.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical cross-section on 'theline 4-8 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an end elevation of .the invention as applied to the top of a freight car.

Fig. 6 is a vertical cross-section on the line 6-5 01' Fig. 5. i

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a fragmentary portion of the tread portion of the structure looking in one direction, and

Fig. 8 is a similar view looking in the opposite Referring in detail to the several figures of the drawings: The bodyor tread of the structure comprises expanded metal lath or metal mesh. Without describing in detail the'manner in which it is manufactured, as that forms no part of my invention, sufflce it to say generally that a metal or subsequently to the slitting operation. The

, ing in numerous accidents, many of them fatal,

result produced is a reticulated structure com- .prising a plurality of rhombic-shaped or qua- .drilaterally-shaped integral units indicated generally at In in Fig. 2.' All of the legs of these units are preferably equal in length and opposite legs II and II respectively preferably are-paralle l, but the angles formed by the legs are unequal, two of the opposite angles being obtuse while the other two opposite angles are acute. The sides of all of the legs-of all of the units, furthermore,

are inclined from the vertical and in the same I direction as illustrated. In addition, one side of each unit lies in a higher vertical plane than its opposite side with said opposite side joining the higher side as at l3 of the next succeeding unit. This producesan exceedingly 'eflicacious form of non-slip or non-skid tread, as will be obvious.

For supporting the body or tread just described intermediate its sides and to provide stiffening members therefor I prefer to employ bearing bars l4 comprising flat plates set on edge which are inexpensive and being of standard form and size are easily procurable. The use of a large number of these bearing bars is not necessary forthe reason that the tread'itself is a rigid structure resistant to pressure. These bearing bars are preferably spaced in parallelism ment with the juncture point It hereinbefore referred to which juncture points are welded to the upper ends of the bearing bars preferably by the electrical resistance welding method. A unibeneath the tread and are set on edge in aligntary structure is thus produced which may be the reason that the parts to be welded should be in perfect vertical alignment with, preferably,

the upper electrode of the welding machine an as the walls of the units are inclined from the vertical, as above explained, this ideal welding operation cannot be obtained without the straightening operation lust referred to.

In addition to the bearing'bars Hi just referred to, I preferably provide sidebars IS, the upper ends of which are bent over to form inverted U-shaped heads II to the lower free edge of which the free ends of the tread are welded, preferably by the electrical resistance welding method. These free ends provide excellent welding projections and permit the, welding operation to be quickly and easily effected. Also the upper inverted heads of said side bars make for a compact structure free from projecting or sharpened parts.

In Figures 5 and 6 I have shown the invention in the form of a cat-walk fastened to the top of a freight car, the roof of which is indicated at I8 and is slightly crowned as ordinarily. Extending transversely of the upper wall I8 at spaced intervals thereon are the usual strengthening ribs I9 to which are bolted, as by bolts 20, the angled metallic supports 2| which engage the bearing bars l4 and the side bars I6. In practice it will be found to be unnecessary to weld or otherwise fasten the bearing bars to said angled supports but merely to fasten the lower portion of the side bars thereto at any desired spaced intervals. .This fastening between the two parts just referred to may be conveniently effected by means of arc welds, as well known in the art,

and as indicated at 22. Obviously it would not be practicable to manufacture the device of the invention of a length sufficient to extend completely the length of a freight car in which case of course the invention is made up in separate units lying end to end either connected to each other or otherwise as found most desirable. Furthermore, and manifestly, in many cases it is preferable to assemble the treads, stiffening and supporting members H and side bars IS in their proper relation to each other and connect them together as described resulting in a composite structure which may be shipped as a unit and mounted on and attached to the roof of a freight car with ease and facility.

The invention claimed is:

l. A walkway comprising a reticulated tread of expanded metal lath and bearing members including flat metal bars set on edge and electrically welded to the under side of said tread intermediate the side edges thereof.

2. A metallic walkway comprising a reticulated tread of quadrilaterally-shaped units integral with each other and combined bearing and stiffening members for said tread including spaced metal bars set on edge and electrically welded to some of the Junctions of said quadilaterallyshaped units intermediate the sides of said reticulated tread.

3. A metallic walkway comprising a reticulated tread including aplurality of integral quadrilateral ly-shaped units, the sides of the legs of said units being inclined from the vertical in the same direction with'one side of each unit lying in a higher horizontal plane than its opposite side and its opposite side joining the higher side of the next succeeding unit and. bearing members comprising, flat bars set on edge and electrically welded to some of said units at their points of intersection and intermediate the sides of the tread.

4. A metallic walkway comprising a reticulated tread of expanded metal lath, spaced bearing members supporting said, tread and electrically welded to the underside thereof intermediate the side edges of said tread and side bars having inverted U-shaped heads the free ends of which are electrically welded to said tread to produce a composite, integral structure.

5. A ,metallic walkway comprising a reticulated tread including a plurality of integral quadrilaterally-shaped units with one side of each unit lying in a higher horizontal plane than its opposite side and its opposite side joining the higher sideof the next succeeding unit and bearing members comprising spaced metal bars set on edge and electrically welded to the underside of said tread intermediate the side edges thereof.

6'. A walkway comprising a reticulated tread of expanded metal lath embodying angular mesh portions, a part of certain walls of certain mesh portions being-vertical and others inclinedto the vertical, and metallic members spaced from each other and extending downwardly from said tread and providing stiffening members therefor, said members each presenting a horizontal upper edge portion electrically welded to the underside of a plurality of said vertical walls of the meshes of thetread intermediate the side edges of the tread and forming an integral structure there- .with. 3

'1. A walkway' comprising a reticulated tread of expanded metal lath embodying mesh units of angular form, all the walls of all except certain of the units being inclined in the same direction at an angle to the plane of the tread and certain wall portions of said certain units being disposed substantially perpendicular to the Plane of the tread and: arranged in spaced parallel rows, and spaced metallic stiffening members extending downwardly from said tread and each having a portion disposed edgewise in vertical alinement with and welded to a row of said perpendicularly disposed wall portions of said certain units intermediate the opposite marginal edges of the tread and forming an integral structure therewith.

JOHN R. TENCH. 

